Toy gun with attached floating target



NOV. 19, ELI-MAN ETAL TOY GUN WITH ATTACHED FLOATING TARGET Filed Dec.27, 1960 1NVENTORS=' GEORGE LERN ER JULIUS ELLMAN ATTORNEY.

United States Patent 3,111,319 TOY GUN WITH ATTACHED FLGATING TARGETJulius Ellman, 1672 E. 7th St., Brooklyn 30, N.Y., and George Lerner, 12Prospect Court, Freeport, N.Y. Filed Dec. 27, 1960, Ser. No. 78,500 6Claims. (Cl. 2731i)1) This invention relates to toys and, moreparticularly, to a target toy.

t is an object of the present invention to provide a target toy having aprojectile launcher and a target mounted thereupon, which will oscillaterelative to the path of flight of the projectile so as to present amoving target for testing the accuracy and skill and coordination of theoperator.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a target toy inthe form of a projectile launcher having a target movable relative tothe path flight of the projectile, which is completely self-contained,and which can be effectively controlled by the operator exclusive ofoutside influences.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a movingtarget toy of the above type which will enable the operator to controlthe rate of oscillation of the target across the path of flight of theprojectile, thus enabling the operator to test his aim and firing skillunder various operating conditions.

All of the foregoing and still further objects and advantages of thisinvention will become apparent from a study of the followingspecification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing,wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a target toy made in accordance with oneform of the present invention in actual use.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the slightly modified form of construction.

FIG. 3 is a side elevational View of still another form of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view of a slightlymodified form of mounting means.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary top plan view of still another form of mountingmeans forming a part of the present invention.

Referring now to the drawing, and more particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, atarget toy It) made in accordance with one form of the present inventionis shown to include a simulated pistol 12 that forms a launcher for adart type projectile 14 having a suction cup mounted at the leading endthereof. A housing 16 depending from the launcher 12 has a front wall 13with an aperture 2%} through which one end of an arm 22 extends. Thisarm 22 is constructed of a spring-like material with the one end 24thereof engaged upon a mounting stud 26 within the housing 13. A targetplate 28 is secured upon the opposite free end of the arm 22 andorientated for oscillating movement relative to the flight path of theprojectile 14.

It will thus be recognized that due to the inherent resilience of thearm 22, and because of the guiding action of the slot 2% in the frontwall 18 of the housing 16, the target 28 can be made to oscillate withina substantially single plane relative to the flight path of theprojectile 14, thus enabling the operator to release the projectile 14whenever desired for movement toward the target 28. Scoring can beaccounted for by various indicia imprinted upon the face of the target28.

Reference is now made to FIG. 2 of the drawing, wherein a slightlymodified form of construction 36} is shown to include a projectilelauncher 32 having a housing 34 extending laterally outwardly from oneside thereof. This housing 34 has a front wall 36 with an aperture 33through which the flexible arm 40 extends, with the one end 42 thereofsecured to a mounting post 44 within the "ice housing 34. The oppositeend of the arm 40 is secured to a target plate 46 which is movablerelative to the flight path of the projectile in a substantiallyhorizontal plane, as compared to the movement of the target plate in theembodiment shown in FIG. 1.

Reference is now made to FIG. 3 of the drawing, wherein a furtherembodiment 40 of the present invention is shown to include a projectilelauncher 42 having a mounting plate 44 projecting upwardly from the topthereof. A substantially rigid arm 43 has one end pivotally mounted uponthe hinge pin 46 carried by the mounting plate 44 for movement within asubstantially vertical plane. The opposite end of the arm 48 supports atarget plate 56 for movement within a vertical plane relative to theflight path of the projectile of the launcher. Ylieldable means, whichmay be in the form of an elastic band 52, is secured at opposite ends tomounting plate 44 at 54, and to the arm 48 at 56. Due to the eccentricmounting of the one end of the yieldable means 52 upon the mountingplate 44, relative to the hinge axis of the pivot pin 46 of the arm 48,such elastic band will normally yieldably resist pivotal movement of thearm 43 into a centered position extending substantially parallel to theflight path of the projectile. If desired, a tension coil spring, or thelike, may be substituted for the elastic band 52 with correspondingresults.

it will be seen that when the target is mounted to swing in a verticalline from below the line of fire, as in FIG. 1, the weight of the targettends to maintain it below the line of tire, making it necessary tobounce the tar-get into firing range. In the form shown in FIG. 3, wherethe target is supported from overhead, the yieldable means, whetherspring or rubber band, is arranged to maintain the target above the lineor" fire, and thus again making it necessary to bounce the target intofiring range. In cases, however, where the target is mounted to swing ina horizontal line, the spring as in FIG. 2, is so arranged or bent thatit will maintain the target to one side of the line of fire, thus makingit necessary to impart a horizontally swinging motion to the target.

In PEG. 4 of the drawing, a modified form of mounting assembly for usewith the arrangement shown in FIG. 3, is shown to include a mountingplate 64 secured to the top of the launcher 62 and having an upperterminal portion 65 overlying a portion of the launcher 62. A rigid arm68 is secured, such as by a hinge pin :56 to a central portion of themounting plate 64, and a pair of compression coil springs 69 acting beween the launcher 62, the arm 68, and the terminal portion -65 of themounting plate, normally maintain the arm 68 in a non-centered positionrelative to the flight path of the projectile.

In FIG. 5 of the drawing, still another form 7:? of mounting means isshown to include a pair of mounting plates 64( secured to the top of thelauncher 72 and having a transversely extending hinge pin 75 whichpivotally supports the one end of the arm 73. A torsion spring d9mounted upon the pin '75 yieldably resists movement of the arm 78 out ofa normally non-centered position with respect to the flight path of theprojectile.

It will now be recognized that in all embodiments of the presentinvention, the device is readily operated for the individual simply byinitially moving the launcher within the general plane of movement ofthe target plate, thus setting such target plate into oscillatingmovement relative to the flight path of the projectile. After the targethas been set into motion, the launcher may be actuated to launch theprojectile whenever desired, in an attempt to strike a high score targetarea of the targe plate carried by the respective arm.

While this invention has been described with particular reference to theconstruction shown in the drawing, it is to be understood that such isnot to be construed as im- 3 parting limitations upon the invention,which is best defined by the claims appended hereto.

Having thus described our invention, We claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent:

1. A target toy comprising, in com in'ation, a projectile launcher forlaunching the projectile along a flight path, an arm mounted at one endupon said launcher extending substantially parallel to the flight pathof said launcher, a target mounted upon the opposite end of said arm,and yieldable means acting between said launcher and said armaccommodating limited reciprocating movement of said tar-get across saidflight path in response to movement of the launcher, said yieldablemeans comprising an elastic element acting between said launcher andsaid arm, and tending to maintain said target normally out of saidflight path.

2. A target toy as set forth in claim 1, wherein said elastic elementcomprises a yieldable portion of said 3. A target toy as set forth inclaim 2, wherein said arm is flexible along the length thereof, said oneend being rigidly secured upon said launcher, and said launcher havingguide means directing said reciprocating movement of said target Withina single plane.

4. A target toy as set forth in claim 1, wherein said arm is rigid alongthe length thereof, and said one end of said arm is pivotally mountedupon said launcher for :hinged movement about a single pivot axis.

5. A target toy as set forth in claim 4, wherein said yieldaole meanscomprises a tension spring having one end secured upon said launchereccentric to said pivot axis, and said tension spring having an oppositeend secured to said arm intermediate the ends thereof.

6. A target toy as set forth in claim 4, wherein said yieldable meanscomprises at least one compression spring acting between said launcherand said arm.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS334,293 Seibold Jan. 12, 1886 1,058,931 Zeigler Apr. 15, 1913 1,514,559Montalbano Nov. 4, 1924 2,210,557 Schillace et al. Aug. 6, 19402,976,644 Crisci Mar. 28, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 521,178 Germany Mar. 19,1931

1. A TARGET TOY COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A PROJECTILE LAUNCHER FORLAUNCHING THE PROJECTILE ALONG A FLIGHT PATH, AN ARM MOUNTED AT ONE ENDUPON SAID LAUNCHER EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO THE FLIGHT PATHOF SAID LAUNCHER, A TARGET MOUNTED UPON THE OPPOSITE END OF SAID ARM,AND YIELDABLE MEANS ACTING BETWEEN SAID LAUNCHER AND SAID ARMACCOMMODATING LIMITED RECIPROCATING MOVEMENT OF SAID TARGET ACROSS SAIDFLIGHT PATH IN RESPONSE TO MOVEMENT OF THE LAUNCHER, SAID YIELDABLEMEANS COMPRISING AN ELASTIC ELEMENT ACTING BETWEEN SAID LAUNCHER ANDSAID ARM, AND TENDING TO MAINTAIN SAID TARGET NORMALLY OUT OF SAIDFLIGHT PATH.